Remember
by avalonchick5
Summary: JamesSP/FemOC. Squib!James. Muggle!FemOC.  It's always been right under your nose. You never know what you've got until it's gone.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ***clears throat*** Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, James Sirius Potter, Albus Potter, Lily Potter, Teddy Lupin, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Victoire Weasley, Rose Weasley, Hugo Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Hogwarts, or any of the classes mentioned thereof. Those belong to JKR.

Nor do I own the name Anathema. That name comes from a TomR/MaleOC(Harry) story that I have read and liked the name. It belongs to the author that wrote that story.

I also do not own Dylan Bauder. His name belongs to him and I owe him for letting me use it. Thanks Dylan!

I do have some rights to ***ahem*** Aurora, Lillian Hermione Potter, Harrison Theodore Potter, James William Potter, Andromeda Delia Potter, the nonexistent Oakland Academy, the equally nonexistent Goodman, Carson, and Hollow Secondary Schools, and Godric's Day School for Magic.

Thank you and enjoy!

His hazel eyes sparkled mischievously as he looked up from where he had been conspiring with his best friend (almost brother, really) and caught sight of her. He studied her for a moment, evidently puzzled, searching his memory for the reason she looked so familiar, and yet, different. His eyes widened as she glanced at him and it finally clicked. James Potter immediately paused, staring at her intently, comparing the innocent little girl from his memories to this jaded teenage that lounged casually on a tree limb, high off of the ground. Turning to his erstwhile best friend, Dylan Bauder, he asked him, "Is that _Rory_?" He half-hoped it wasn't.

Dylan nodded and glanced up at her. "Yeah…I haven't talked to her in a really long time. She goes to Oakland Academy, you know, that private school closer to the city? Us at Goodman don't have a lot of contact with them…we're a lot closer to the people at Carson Secondary…they're just a couple blocks away from us. Why?"

James looked at her again. "I haven't seen her in forever. The last time we talked was, what, four, five years ago? When I was twelve? That was when I left the primary school around here…She's changed a lot." Dylan nodded. "Yeah, guess so." He checked his watch. "Ah, shit. I gotta go; my mum wants to take me shopping for some 'good' clothes for the prom…Talk to you later, then?"

"Yeah, sure. You call me, yeah?" Dylan smiled and playfully punched his shoulder before jogging away. James looked up into the tree again, but this time the girl was looking down at him. She cocked her head and slid off of the branch, twisting lithely until she jumped onto the ground with a soft thud. Standing, she dusted off her jean shorts and crossed her arms, waiting. He walked over to her, still looking her over.

She was just so different. After all, the last time he'd seen her, she'd been ten years old, still prone to wearing pretty flowered dresses and nice black shoes; of course, with him and Dylan she'd always ended up with a ripped dress and dirty bare feet, laughing breathlessly after a vigorous game of tag. She'd been so innocent, just a pretty (or at least he'd thought so) girl with bright brown eyes and cute missing-teeth smile.

Now, well, firstly, she had definitely done some growing up. Her body had developed a nice set of curves that had not existed on her child's body. Her chest was of good size, her waist slim, and her hips were curvy. Her legs, arms, and abs were toned, with slightly defined muscle. She was also taller, hitting about five feet, seven inches, with very long legs making up most of her height. Secondly, her skin was paler, though she had some freckles on her face and arms that hadn't been there before. Her face was thinner with the loss of its childish roundness and her hair was darker and longer, a very dark brown now versus the lighter, sun-streaked brown it had been before. She had long black eyelashes and pale peach cupid's bow lips. The biggest change, however, was in her eyes.

Where once they had been light and full of laughter, they were now pure dark chocolate. They retained almost none of their youthful innocence, instead reflecting loneliness and suspicion. This loss of innocence was reflected in her attire. It was hot for late May, and he himself was wearing shorts and a thin t-shirt with flip-flops. She wore snug-fitting dark denim short shorts that showed off her legs and a black lacy camisole layered over a scarlet bra that he could see the straps of. Her feet were bare, though he could see a pair of black flip-flops lying at the foot of the tree. All in all, she looked too…grown up. She wasn't supposed to change, he thought to himself irrationally. She shouldn't have to grow up and change and she wasn't supposed to attract him the way she did. But it had happened, and he was powerless to stop it.

James stopped just in front of her, meeting her eyes, so jaded, so lonely. She looked up at him (because he was still at least two inches taller than her, and he was comforted that at least that hadn't changed) and crossed her arms. He had an irrational urge to laugh. Rory looked so much like when she was ten and he was twelve and he had just tagged her in a game that he almost did.

"James Potter." It wasn't a question, but he responded anyway, marveling at how melodious and how much older her voice sounded. "Aurora Anathema."

She scowled playfully, a light in her dark eyes. "You know full well not to call me that, Mr. Potter. It's Rory!"

He laughed and wrapped her in a hug. "Missed you Rory," he murmured into her sweet-smelling hair, and he felt her arms wrap around his waist in return, squeezing tightly. "Missed you more," she mumbled into his chest. They stood there for a moment, and he savored the feeling of hugging her again. Then they released each other and she stepped back, avoiding his gaze as she colored, crossing her arms protectively again. "Rory?"

"Sorry," she murmured, turning away, her cheeks reddening further. "I'll stop."

James knew what was going on (she had discovered that he was, indeed, a red-blooded male) and blushed scarlet, but sat down, leaning against the tree trunk and waited for her to join him. She came after a moment, sitting next to him and stretching her legs out, touching her left to his right hesitantly. He didn't move it.

"So what've you been up to lately?" His voice was light, and she smiled gratefully. "I've been alright. Graduated from primary and joined the halls of Oakland Academy last fall. I have now got a year of secondary under my belt, only three left to go. I can't wait to graduate and head off to university. I hate it at school."

James cocked his head at her curiously. "Why?" Evidently, that was a delicate question to ask, because her eyes got stormy and her cheeks reddened again, but this time in fury. She scowled. "They're either prissy and prudish or slutty and practically whoring themselves out and I just can't be myself there, I've got to be one of them, one of the crème of society or of the whorehouses. I'll bet that none of them have ever run around barefoot or had a paint war in their entire lives!" James chuckled, recalling that particular instance quite well. Rory calmed slightly and sent him an apologetic look.

"Sorry for unloading on you. How about you then? What's your life like now? Still in Godric's Hollow?" James nodded, relieved that at least Rory knew his secret. While still a child, he had revealed the secrets of the wizarding world to her by accident, but she had kept the secret with utmost fidelity. She was perhaps the only muggle who had no familial magical connections but knew all about magic. She also was one of the only people who knew that he had never received an invitation to Hogwarts, that he had never performed magic in his life, and that he hated his mother with a passion because she thought he was a disgrace for not being able to perform magic. Both his parents and his siblings knew that he was nonmagical, but his mother had never let on to the others that she hated him.

"Everyone's fine. Lily and Albus are back from their third and fourth years respectively and Dad's doing really well at work." He didn't say a word about _her_. Rory nodded complacently. "I'm at the Hollow's Secondary School, though it's pretty small. I like it alright; I'd rather be with Dylan at Goodman though."

Rory agreed with a smile, and they settled in comfortable silence. James looked over at her and stared. A small smile was playing on her lips and her eyes looked rather far away. With a mischievous smile, he edged closer to blow in her ear (which immensely annoyed her), but when he was about to do it, she abruptly turned her head and their lips connected.

James was surprised at the contact and froze, eyes closed. To his immense surprise, he felt her lips press against his shyly. He didn't respond at first, but when she began to pull away, he acted instinctively and put his hands on her hips, holding her in place, and kissed her back. She responded and moved so that they were facing each other. Their kisses were gentle at first, testing the boundaries, but as soon as she realized that James would gladly take it easy all day, she took the initiative and parted her lips, brushing the tip of her tongue on his lips. Surprised again, he opened his lips, allowing her tongue access to his mouth.

Rory nearly moaned when James opened his mouth and let her tongue in. She moved it quickly, mapping out the inside of his mouth and meeting his tongue with her own. He was obviously experienced and twisted it around hers, making her whimper quietly. His hands that had been on her hips moved to her waist as he pushed her to the soft grass at the base of the tree, on his knees and leaning over her. Her hands clutched his velvety hair, keeping him close when he pulled away, panting.

James almost came undone when he gazed down at the breathless girl underneath him. Her formerly peachy lips were now swollen and red, and the look in her eyes told him she definitely wanted more. He didn't protest when she pulled him back down to her, merely shifting his hands so they were on either side of her shoulders.

Rory took the initiative again and pushed his hands so he fell on top of her, then rolled them so she was on top. She straddled his waist, but couldn't sit up, seeing as her mouth was rather busy with his. Then James moved too quickly for her, so he was sitting up with his legs straight out in front of him and she was sitting on his lap with her legs behind him, facing him. Before she fell back, he caught her with one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head, twisting silky locks of her hair in his fingers. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly before attacking her neck, leaving his mark at the base of her throat. He bit lightly on the skin of her collarbone, making her whimper and make the most delicious noises. He moved the straps of her bra and camisole to hang off of her shoulders so he continue uninterrupted. Rory clutched his head to her, nuzzling his hair against her cheek.

Mind hazy with pleasure as Rory raked her nails over his back, James began laying kisses just under the edge of the lace of her camisole. Rory, whose mind was not much better, allowed it for a moment, but pulled him up after one round. "James," she panted, "we need to stop."

James immediately stopped, still holding her up, but out of necessity now. "Yeah. Sorry." He shook his head to clear it. "We didn't go too far, did we?" His voice was anxious as he gazed at her. She smiled brilliantly. "Definitely not. I wish we could've gone further actually," and here she blushed, "but I'm not ready for that." James nodded, relieved. "Me either. So…what are we now?"

Rory avoided his eyes for a moment as she blushed red, and said hesitantly, "I…well, I wouldn't mind being, well…" her face was nearly scarlet by now, and she trailed off.

James considered, and nodded decisively. "Well then. Rory, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" She smiled at him. "Of course. But, you do know I'm fourteen, right?" James nodded. "That's fine; it just means we won't be able to move on as fast. I'm fine with whatever pace you take, just as long as you don't force yourself to do anything. I want this to be good for us, Rory." He was sincere in his sentiments, and she could sense this.

"Good. This doesn't mean we won't be able to snog though…" she grinned slyly and pulled him down for another heated kiss. James smiled internally. He had a feeling that this would be a lot of fun…

And it was.


	2. Optional Epilogue

Optional Epilogue:

Rory and James stayed together and chaste for about two years (though there were quite a few 'almosts'). Then, Rory (again) took the initiative and they finally made love, and it was immensely satisfying for them both. Both graduated from secondary top of their respective classes and went to the same university. They got engaged while in the university and got married right after graduation. James and Rory originally were thinking about getting jobs in the muggle world, but instead worked with James' brother and sister creating muggle-based innovations. Slowly, the wizarding world caught up to the muggle world in terms of magical technology, seeing as James and Rory often had unique perspectives on how to use magic.

They both learned Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Creatures, and Potions, taking both their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and passing with extremely high scores. Although they couldn't power up the Runes, they could still design them, and Arithmancy was just magical mathematics. Caring for creatures was one of Rory's favorite classes, seeing as she could care for magical and mundane creatures just as well as a magical person. Potions was James' favorite subject, as he had inherited his grandmother's talent for cooking (albeit he did it muggle-style), and was quite talented at Potion-making as a result.

Rory stood by James his entire life, and he did the same for her. They weathered all the bad times, and Rory grew quite close to James' family as a result of some problems; one was Harry's discovery that Ginny was actually stealing his gold and cheating on him with several men; another Albus' realization that he was attracted to males; another Lily's depression that Teddy was (finally) marrying Victoire and the unearthing of her feelings for Teddy.

Rory's parents, in turn, were extremely disapproving of her relationship with James and tried to keep her isolated from him, but she eventually ran away the year she turned seventeen and stayed with James and his family.

They did have children: a cute little girl named Lillian (Lily for short, after her godmother) Hermione (after James' favorite aunt), then a boy called Harrison (Harry for short, after his grandfather) Theodore (after his godfather), and finally twins dubbed James (Jay) William and Andromeda (Andi) Delia. Only Lily and Harry turned out magical, and both were given the choice on going to Hogwarts or Godric's Day School for Magic, a school founded by Harry Sr. when he learned that neither of the children was particularly enthused about going to Hogwarts, especially after learning that James hadn't been able to go and neither would the twins. The school taught both magical and mundane subjects, often relating a magical and mundane subject, like Biology and Herbology or Mathematics and Arithmancy. It was a great success, though it's students remained fairly local or from nearby. None of the Weasley children went to the school, even though Hermione Weasley taught Transfiguration there. Harry himself taught Defensive and Offensive Magic, as he had renamed the subject. James and Rory eventually taught there as well, instructing the children in Potions and Care of Creatures respectively.

Albus' permanent boyfriend was (not surprisingly) Scorpius Malfoy, though neither of them committed to marriage, knowing that Scorpius would eventually have to father an heir. He [Scorpius] had been fending off his father quite well so far, and his mother already knew and was fine with it; in fact, she had encouraged his relationship with Albus. Rose Weasley never forgave either of them.

Lily had managed to explain to Teddy, at the tender age of seventeen (while he was twenty five and absolutely clueless) that she loved him and she would never love anyone else, and really, she just wanted him to know that before he married Victoire. Teddy took a couple of days to sort out his feelings and came back, broke off his marriage to Victoire (who accepted it gracefully and with a knowing smile and wishes of good luck), and got together with Lily, eventually marrying her two years later. They had three children who all attended Godric's Day School with their cousins.

Hermione Weasley, absolutely sick of arguing and laziness and discouragement, divorced her husband two years after Lily got married, leaving both Rose and Hugo with him. She married Harry Sr. a year after that. They lived, loved, and taught together, though they had no children together – and that wasn't for lack of trying.

And they lived happily ever after (and practically Weasley-free!).

**AN:** In case you didn't notice, I wasn't feeling in a very pro-Weasley mood and since they weren't very involved in the story, I decided to bash them in the epilogue. I actually really like the idea of a magical day school and have read several fics involving them. The idea for James being a Squib actually came from a one-shot that was James I/Harry where Harry was a Squib.

PS: You know what's really weird? I wrote another story recently and it had the same type of ending/epilogue. I wonder what's up with that.

Well, please review!

Love,

Avalon


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